Antiskidding device for road-vehicles.



M. CLARK.

mmxmnme DEVICE FOR 30w VEHICLES. I 1 APPLICATION FILED 13110.4,1911.1,055,518, Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

M. CLARK.

ANTISKIDDING DEVICE FOR ROAD VEHICLES.

APPLICATION TILED DEC. 4, 1911.

Patented Mar. 11,1913.v

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MELVILLE CLARK OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ANTISKIDDING DEVICE roe ROAD-VEHICLES.

To all, whom it may concern:

.Be, itknownthatl, Mnnv nnn CLARK, a

citizenof theUnited States, residing at Chicago, in the county. of Cookand State of Illinois, have, inventednew and useful Improvements. in.Antiskidding Devices for Road-Vehiclegof. which the following is aspecification, reference being. had to the ac- ;companymg drawings,forming a part cated in the claims.

, In the drawings ;-Figure 1 is a fore-andaft vertical section of aportion of the frame of an automobile equipped with a device embodyingthis invention and showing the de- ,a small angle to a vertical line.

vice in position for contact with the road surface. Fig. 2 is a viewtaken similarly-to Fig. 1, but showing the parts disengaged from theroad surface. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the device with certainpartsin section to show detail construction. Fig. 4 is a top plan viewof the controlling pedals. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the readengaging disk, 1.

The road-engaging device employed in this invention is a disk, 1, whichis preferably beveled; that is, made wedge-shaped in radial section atthe periphery, and which may be toothed, the result of the hevelingandtoothing being to form pyramidal teeth for encounter and engagementwith the road way. This disk is mounted on the end of a suitably formedarm 2,which constitutes the outer member of a jointed arm, whichcomprises in addition an upper member, 3, which extends as a lever armfrom arock shaft, 4, mounted on the vehicle frame or chassis, preferablyat a position rearward of the axle. of the rear or driving wheels,sothat a line from the axis of the rock shaft to the point of engagementof the disk, 1, with the road-bed trends down forwardly at The twomembers, 2 and 3. of the disk-carrying arm are 1oiuted together and heldnormally at an angle to each other such that in view of the forwarddownward trend of the upper member. the lower member trends down- ,wardrearwardly'trom the joint of the two members to each other, and apowerful Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 4, 1911.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

Serial No. 663,703.

spri iig, 7,)is I provided operating between the two mem ers, 2 and 3,at thelr joint to'resistthe rearward and upward folding v,dt the lowermember with. 1e ct tb th upper. Upon the rock shaft, 4, oria fulcruincoax'ial therewith, there isj-mounte d a rocker, 8, compr sing a leverarm, 9, which is connected by ,a spring, 10, with a, liig, 3, whichprojects fronrthe lever arm, 3,-s o as to, ter.- minatefor connectionwith-the spriiigop'posite a point midway betweenthetwo extreme positionsof the spring connection .withthe arm, 9, within the range of rocking ofthe rocker as hereinafter describepl The rocker arm, 9, is connected foractuation through a link, 11, to a da1,1"2,"as indicatedin Figs. 1 and2. Tlns'pedal I2,- has the form of a straight lever pivoted between itsends and connected at its lower end, 12*, with the link, 11, while theupper end carries a crank wrist, 12", designed to serve as a treadle forthe foot of the operator. The

pedal. 12, will be employed only for bringing the disk, it, intoengagement with the road surface; that is. for moving it.from theposition shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 1. When the parts standas indicated in Fig. 2, the. forward movement of the treadle, 12", willcause the arm, 9, to swing rcarwardly about its rock shaft, 4, carryingthe spring, 10, through and to the rear of.

the axis of the rock shaft, 4, and thus causing it to draw the member,3, rearwardly about the shaft, 4, so to lower the disk, 1,

into road-engaging position.

By reason of the downwardly forward trend of the jointed lever arm, 2,3, considered as a whole, it will be seen that when the treadle isrocked so as to swing the upward member and thereby the entire, devicedownward, bringing the disk, 1, in contact with the road-bed, theforward travel of the vehicle will draw the disk down into engagementwith the road-bed. asfar as the condition of the road-bed and theresistance afforded bythe spring. 7, will permit, to a certain extent,which islpreferably deter mined by a check strap, 13, provided on thevehicle frame or chassis. stopping the tear ward swing of the arm, 3.

It may be noted that the forward tra'vel of the. vehicle while the diskis engaged with the road-bed, tending "to draw the 'disk into engagementwith the road-bed, would produce thereby, especially in the case ofrapid travel, a strong resistance to disengaging the disk, 1, from theroad if this were attempted by swingingl the'arm, 2, 3, forward. Toavoid this di culty, there is mounted on the rock shaft, 4, a secondrocker, 18, which has a lever arm, .19, connected by a link, 20, withthe lower member, 2, of the jointed lever, said lever arm and link beingrelatively proportioned and positioned so that the rocking movement ofthe rocker, 18, in the direction of the like movement of the rocker, 8,which shifts the spring, 10, to position for pulling up on the leverarm,

, 3, will fold the lever arm, 2, up rearwardly about its joint with thelever arm, 3, thus disengagingthe disk from the road-bed by movement inthe direction in which such disengagement will be assisted, instead ofresisted, by the travel of the vehicle.- The rocker arm, 19, isconnected through a link,

21, with a second pedal. 22, mounted coaxially with the pedal, 12, andhaving the form of the bell crank with its lower arm,

22*, coupled to the link, 21, while its upper 22 similar to The rockerarm, .19, has a arm terminates in a pedal, the pedal, 12*.

laterally projecting plug, 19, which extends-v for contact with the rearside of the arm,

9. Thus, when the pedal, 22", is depressed, causing the arm, 22 to bethrown forward, this movement results in a forward rocking of the arm,19, drawing up the lower member, 2,,and sufliciently disengaging thedisk,

1, from the road to permit the arm, 3, to be swung upward and forward asthe lug,

19*, nicks up and carries forward the arm,

9, by which the spring, 10, is carried forward of the axis of the rockshaft, 1, back: to the position of the parts illustrated in Fig. 2. Bythis means, the operator is relieved from any necessity for attention.to the details of the action, having only to press the proper pedal armof the treadle' in order to first disengage the disk from the road-bed,and next or simultaneously, rock the spring connection to position forcausing it to lift the disk away from the road-' bed.

It will be observed that the jointed and foldable construction of thelever arm, 2, 1 and the trend-of'the lower member, 2, from the jointpermits the disk to readily ride over obstructions in the roadway whichwould otherwise break it or compel the vehicle to be lifted over them bythe disk rising over them; and at the same time, it would be observedthat the stiffness of the spring, 7, insures adequate engagement of thedisk with the road-bed to resist the lateral slewing of the vehicle.

I claim 1. An anti-skidding device for road vehicles comprising, incombination with a vehicle frame and wheels, a jointed arm hav- 0ndmember having its upper end pivotally connected to the lower end of thefirst, a

disk journaled in the lower end of the second member for engagement withthe roadbed, the parts being so disposed and pro portioned that in theroadway-engaging position of the disk the first member trends downwardlyand forwardly from its connection to the vehicle frame, and the secondmember trends downwardly and rearwardly from its joint tothe firstmember, the point of ground contact of the disk being forward of thepivotal connection of the first member to the frame, and a springreacting between the two members tending to resist the upward andrearward folding of the second member with respect to the first.

2. An anti-skidding device comprising, in combination with a vehicleframe and wheels, a jointed lever arm comprising a first member pivotedon the frame for swinging in a vertical plane, and the second memberpivoted to the first member; awdisk for engagement of the road-way,journaled in the end of the second member, the parts being proportionedto cause the said second member to trend downwardly and rearwardly fromits pivot to the first member at the road-way engaging position of thedisk; a spring positioned to resist the upward folding of said secondmember; a rocker whose axis is coincident with the pivot axis of saidfirst member; a spring connected eccentrically with said rocker and withsaid first lever arm;'an operating device and a link connecting the samewith the rocker for rocking it to swing the spring past the axis of therocker, whereby at one position the spring operates to lift the leverarm and at another position operates to lower it.

3. An anti-skidding device for road vehicles, comprising a vehicle frameand wheels, a jointed lever arm fulcrumed upon the vehicle frame; a diskcarried by the remote end of such lever arm for engagement of theroadway intermediate the tracks of the opposite wheels, said armcomprising an upper and a lower member, the lower member trendingdownwardly and rearwardly from its. joint to the upper member, the partsbeing proportioned to cause the road contact of the disk to be forwardof the vertical plane of the fulcrum of the jointed arm on the vehicleframe; a spring acting between the two members of the jointed arm toresist the folding upward of the lower member; a rocker fulcrumed on theframe co-axially with the jointed lever arm; a spring connected to saidrocker at a point above the axis of the rocker and to the upper memberof the jointed lever arm at a point below said axis, a second rockerfulcrumed co-axially with the first, a link from said second rocker tothe lower member of the jointed arm,.means for rocking the sec- Intestimony whereof, I have hereunto set 0nd rocker at will in directionfor liftingmy hand at Chicago, Illinois, this 16th day the lower member,said second rocker beof November, 1911.

ing provided with means for engaging the MELVILLE CLARK. 5 first to rockit in direction to carry the up- Witnessesz per end of the spring fromone side to the CHAS. S. BURTON,

other of said fulcrum axis. c M. CERTRUDE ADY.

